{"id":19,"date":"2008-07-07T12:30:20","date_gmt":"2008-07-07T16:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/humanspark\/?p=19"},"modified":"2009-07-14T17:32:37","modified_gmt":"2009-07-14T21:32:37","slug":"the-big-red-button","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/humanspark\/featured\/the-big-red-button\/19\/","title":{"rendered":"Spark Blog: The Big Red Button"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n\n
\"3-D<\/a><\/p>\n

Tanya Smith shows 3-D images of Neanderthal teeth
\nphoto \u00a9 Larry Engel, 2008<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Graham Chedd here. Last time, I was telling you about our visit to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility – and about the trouble I got into there.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d come to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility at the invitation of Tanya Smith, who works at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany (where there\u2019s a lot of very cool Human Spark<\/em>-type research going on, so we\u2019ll be filming there later). Tanya is an expert on teeth, which as she points out are by far the most durable parts of our bodies \u2013 in fact they are practically fossilized as they grow. What\u2019s more \u2013 and I found this astonishing when she first told me \u2013 teeth have daily<\/em> growth lines hidden inside them, much like tree rings, which can reveal their owner\u2019s early life history \u2013 and how quickly they grew up.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Tanya, alongside some 3-D images of Neanderthal teeth.<\/p>\n

Peering inside teeth to see those growth rings needs very powerful X-ray beams \u2013 beams millions of times stronger than you get from your dentist. That\u2019s where the synchrotron comes in. And because the X-rays are so potent they are also deadly, which is why there are all sorts of safety precautions. For instance, we were allowed inside the synchrotron while the beam was turned off for routine maintenance for an hour or so, and we were all given special little keys. The synchrotron can\u2019t be turned on until all these keys are returned and in their little locks.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Emergency Stop button
\nphoto \u00a9 Larry Engel, 2008<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

There are also big buttons like this everywhere\u2026<\/p>\n

including in the room where the teeth were actually scanned. Now, before the beam is activated the room it has to be cleared of people, and to make sure the room is thoroughly checked, there are buttons in the corners that have to be pushed. I volunteered to push one of these buttons \u2013 and pushed this one.<\/p>\n

Of course, it was the wrong one (pretty obvious now, but at the time\u2026 not so much). An eerie silence fell as the entire facility, except for the lights, shut down.<\/p>\n

After a moment of shocked disbelief (\u201cWhat did you do!?\u201d), Paul Tafforeau, who is Tanya\u2019s collaborator at the ESRF, recovered his composure and set about informing the authorities what had happened and getting everything back up and running again. He even forgave me (sort of) and no one came to haul me away.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Paul, with another set of Neanderthal teeth, these from a child.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Paul<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Tafforeau examines a set of Neanderthal teeth
\nphoto \u00a9 Larry Engel, 2008<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

This fossil has a fascinating story, and one we\u2019ll tell in the show, because it was the first Neanderthal fossil ever discovered, in 1829, long before Neanderthals were officially recognized and named, and long before Darwin suggested that humans had evolved.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t yet know what Paul and Tanya found out from the scans. That\u2019s going to take several months of careful growth ring counting and analysis. But we do know they were happy with the images they got, and that by the time we get to putting together our program, they\u2019ll be able to tell us how quickly these Neanderthal children grew up.<\/p>\n

Next we\u2019re off to the University of Oregon in Eugene, where we\u2019ll find out what parts of Alan\u2019s brain provide him with a couple of uniquely human skills \u2013 his facility with language, and the ability to use a screwdriver\u2026.<\/p>\n

I just hope there are no big red buttons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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